1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to employment; establishing worker safety requirements; appropriating
1.3 money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 182.
1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. [182.6526] WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION WORKER SAFETY.
1.6 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) The terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings
1.7given them.
1.8 (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry.
1.9 (c) "Employee" means a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution
1.10center.
1.11 (d) "Work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, or
1.12interprets relating to an individual employee's or group of employees' pace of work, including
1.13but not limited to quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials handled or
1.14produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee
1.15performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not
1.16performing tasks.
1.17 (e) "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any
1.18other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service,
1.19or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or
1.20working conditions of 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or
1.211,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state. For
1.22purposes of this paragraph, all employees of an employer's unitary business, as that term is
1Section 1.
REVISOR SS/CH 23-0058312/13/22
State of Minnesota
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H. F. No. 36
NINETY-THIRD SESSION
Authored by Greenman; Nelson, M.; Tabke; Noor; Hassan and others01/04/2023
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industry Finance and Policy 2.1defined in section 290.17, subdivision 4, shall be counted in determining the number of
2.2employees employed at a single warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse
2.3distribution centers in the state.
2.4 (f) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the
2.5following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:
2.6 (1) 493110 for General Warehousing and Storage;
2.7 (2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;
2.8 (3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods;
2.9 (4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; and
2.10 (5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.
2.11 (g) "Quota" means a work standard under which:
2.12 (1) an employee or group of employees is assigned or required to perform at a specified
2.13productivity speed, or perform a quantified number of tasks, or handle or produce a quantified
2.14amount of material, or perform without a certain number of errors or defects, as measured
2.15at the individual or group level within a defined time period; or
2.16 (2) an employee's actions are categorized between time performing tasks and not
2.17performing tasks, and the employee's failure to complete a task performance standard or
2.18recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee's continued employment.
2.19 Subd. 2.Written description required.(a) Each employer shall provide to each
2.20employee a written description of each quota to which the employee is subject and how it
2.21is measured, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be
2.22produced or handled or the limit on time categorized as not performing tasks, within the
2.23defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from
2.24failure to meet the quota.
2.25 (b) The written description must be understandable in plain language and in the
2.26employee's language of preference.
2.27 (c) The written description must be provided:
2.28 (1) upon hire or within 30 days of the effective date of this section; and
2.29 (2) no fewer than two working days prior to the effective date of any modification of
2.30existing quotas.
2Section 1.
REVISOR SS/CH 23-0058312/13/22 3.1 (d) An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an employee for
3.2failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee.
3.3 Subd. 3.Breaks.An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents
3.4compliance with meal or rest or prayer periods, use of restroom facilities, including
3.5reasonable travel time to and from restroom facilities as provided under section 177.253,
3.6subdivision 1, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter or Minnesota
3.7Rules, chapter 5205. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an
3.8employee for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal or
3.9rest or prayer periods, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter.
3.10 Subd. 4.Work speed data.(a) Employees have the right to request orally or in writing
3.11from any supervisor, and the employer shall provide within 72 hours: (1) a written description
3.12of each quota to which the employee is subject; (2) a copy of the most recent 90 days of the
3.13employee's own personal work speed data; and (3) a copy of the prior six months of
3.14aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same work site.
3.15The written description of each quota must meet the requirements of subdivision 2, paragraph
3.16(b), and the work speed data must be provided in a manner understandable to the employee.
3.17An employee may make a request under this paragraph no more than four times per year.
3.18 (b) If an employer disciplines an employee for failure to meet a quota, the employer
3.19must, at the time of discipline, provide the employee with a written copy of the most recent
3.2090 days of the employee's own personal work speed data. If an employer dismisses an
3.21employee for any reason, they must, at the time of firing, provide the employee with a
3.22written copy of the most recent 90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data.
3.23An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting data under this
3.24subdivision.
3.25 Subd. 5.High rates of injury.If a particular work site or employer is found to have an
3.26employee incidence rate in a given year, based on data reported to the federal Occupational
3.27Safety and Health Administration, of at least 30 percent higher than that year's average
3.28incidence rate for the relevant NAICS code's nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses
3.29by industry and case types, released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
3.30commissioner shall open an investigation of violations under this section. The employer
3.31must also hold its safety committee meetings as provided under section 182.676 monthly
3.32until, for two consecutive years, the work site or employer does not have an employee
3.33incidence rate 30 percent higher than the average yearly incidence rate for the relevant
3.34NAICS code.
3Section 1.
REVISOR SS/CH 23-0058312/13/22 4.1 Subd. 6.Enforcement.(a) Subdivision 2, paragraphs (a) to (c), subdivision 4, and
4.2subdivision 5 shall be enforced by the commissioner under sections 182.66, 182.661, and
4.3182.669. A violation of this section is subject to the penalties provided under sections
4.4182.666 and 182.669.
4.5 (b) A current or former employee aggrieved by a violation of this section may bring a
4.6civil cause of action for damages and injunctive relief to obtain compliance with this section,
4.7may receive other equitable relief as determined by a court, including reinstatement with
4.8back pay, and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney
4.9fees in that action. A cause of action under this section must be commenced within one year
4.10of the date of injury.
4.11 (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent local enforcement of occupational
4.12health and safety standards that are more restrictive than this section.
4.13 Sec. 2. SEVERABILITY.
4.14 If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is
4.15held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act which
4.16can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
4.17 Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION.
4.18 $76,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $50,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the
4.19workers' compensation fund to the commissioner of labor and industry for enforcement and
4.20other duties regarding warehouse distribution workers safety under Minnesota Statutes,
4.21section 182.6526.
4Sec. 3.
REVISOR SS/CH 23-0058312/13/22